The present invention relates generally to water dispensers. More particularly, the present invention relates to dispensing purified water with a compact, easy to use coin-operated machine.
Many grocery stores feature coin operated vending machines which dispense purified drinking water. The customers bring a bottle to the machine, place it in the vending station, and then insert coins into the machine to actuate the water dispenser. The machine then dispenses a single predetermined quantity of water which may not fill the bottle. Generally, these water dispensers fill one container at a time. If more than one station is required, the service provider must supply expensive additional machines, and surrender additional space to water dispensing services. Therefore, the cost of providing this service is increased significantly. Although some prior art devices contain multiple filling stations, these are much larger than single water dispensing units, and therefore also require a great deal of space.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a self service water dispenser which efficiently utilizes space.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a self service water dispenser that dispenses a plurality of water volumes upon actuation of a single button, lever or similar device.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a self service water dispenser that provides a plurality of filling stations in a compact and attractive configuration.
Other advantages and features of the invention, together with the organization and manner of operation thereof, will become apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements have like numerals throughout the drawings.